Thieves target tools in sheds at allotments

BURGLARS have been targeting sheds at the Sonning Common Parish Council allotments.

Gardening equipment including a petrol mower, a strimmer and a garden hose have been stolen in the break-ins at the site off Horsepond Road, Gallowstree Common.

Fresh produce grown by plot holders has also been taken. One man had several onions dug up and another had potatoes stolen.

Parish clerk Philip Collings said that almost every allotment had had something taken from it.

He said: “We don’t know how the thieves got in, whether they jumped a wall or climbed the gate. One owner had padlocks broken off a gate and a shed.”

Plot holder Dave Murray, who lives in Sonning Common, called the burglaries “frustrating”.

He said: “We’ve had several items stolen out of our shed — secateurs, a knife and a hose pipe.

“I think it’s the third time in 12 months that this has happened. They will steal anything they think they can sell.

“We’ve had to learn not to lock our sheds as they aren’t very robust and to get in the hooligans have forced the locks. Our neighbour has had their shed ruined.

“You get that feeling of having been violated, as you do when anything is stolen.

“It doesn’t feel great. It just makes you feel like you can’t leave things there. This makes life difficult for those trying to do something with the land that’s good for the environment.”

The allotments are located just beyond the village boundary where the houses end, which Mr Murray said made the site vulnerable.

“It’s an easy target,” he said. “There’s no electricity so there is no possibility of having CCTV.

“The main gates don’t have a lock — maybe a coded lock would be a deterrent.”

Thames Valley Police said another burglary of a shed had been reported to them on Friday.

A spokesman said: “We would appeal to anyone with information to contact the force via our website or call 101, quoting reference number 43230414087.”